Superficial Cuts and Smiles
by Nymbis
Summary: Sai and Sakura are friends. On the surface, where it counts.


_Superficial Cuts and Smiles_

**Summary: **Sai and Sakura are friends. On the surface, where it counts.

**AN: **I love both of these characters…but they don't seem to get along, do they? I'm new to this fandom, so please feel free to leave any criticism!

Sai is absolutely certain that this sensation is what his books refer to as 'dislike', a simple term meaning to find something or someone unpleasant or disgusting. Of course, it's not a deep-seeded dislike, by any means, but the sort of negative quality that most people would associate with a repugnant odor. Like garbage. Or fish heads.

"What are you drawing this time?" Comes the far too pitchy, far too _dislikable _voice from over his shoulder, a peripheral spot of pink in his view. He feels the warm breath on his ear and his nose scrunches up for a mere second.

This is the third time in the newly reformed Team Seven's existence that the medic nin has interrupted his sketching, and he finds the process…unpleasant. Inwardly, he ways his options.

Show her the sketch, and she'll smother him with questions about it.

Call her a name, and she'll smother him for it.

It was, quite certainly, a dislikable situation.

He clears his throat, and he can tell that she's paying him slightly more attention, "It's a landfill," He lies smoothly, "I may even title it."

The pink haired medic nin's eyes widen, somewhat elated- more shocked though, that Sai is actually talking to her, "Really? What?"

"Sakura."

He tenses for the chakra-laden punch before it even hits.

OoO

The odds were beginning to show in their favor, as the number of low-ranked missing nin that attacked them on their way to Mizu begin to dwindle. Sai cleanly disposed of two more, not even bothering to draw out his tigers.

His teammates are faring well also, the three of them obviously overpowering their own opponents. His gaze is distracted when a sudden glint of metal catches his eye, and Sai swerves quickly to see a fleeing nin pull on a thread located near a tree trunk as he retreats.

His sensei seems to have followed Sai's gaze, "They've set a trap!" Yamato calls in warning, although it's too late as dozens of spring-loaded kunai come sailing out from the foliage.

Quickly, Sai deducts their patterns, and a sense of dread is evoked when he realizes one of his teammates is in the trajectory zone. Rapidly, he moves.

"Sakura-chan!" Comes a frantic cry to the left of him, but he ignores it, his eyes trained on his target.

Roughly, Sai plants a gloved hand between Sakura's shoulder blades and harshly shoves her out of the line of fire, using his own body as a shield.

He tenses for the wave of kunai before they even hit.

OoO

A few hours later, and Team Seven is crowded around a campfire, some tranquility restored after the day's events.

"I should have let them just hit you, maybe a few bludgeons to the face might do you some good, Ugly." He said, his- she'll admit it- creepy fake smile plastered on his face.

Well, as much as tranquility _can _be restored.

She can feel her fist tighten and a tiny tick in her jaw, but she calmly reminds herself that even if he _is _a bastard, he's a bastard that took about seven kunai in the back covering her ass. Healing his wounds is the least she could do for repayment.

So, like the medical professional that she is, Sakura simply chooses that time to lay on the heavy antiseptic over the puncture wounds. A satisfied, albeit a little smug, grin crawling up her face when she hears him hiss.

"That hurts hag," He protests, "You'd think that you'd be able to do _one _thing right."

Clearly, Sai is a glutton for punishment, and Sakura makes sure to wind the bandages a little _too _tightly.

OoO

She arrives at the scene just in time to determine that things aren't going well for the male members of Team Seven. Her eyes widen as she looks at the setting, Yamato and Naruto were both fighting, with odds about 7 to 1 in their favor, panting and exhausted. A dozen or so Sound nin bodies litter the ground, and shock overcomes her when she realizes that one of them has a Konoha hitae.

Sprinting, green chakra already engulfing her hands, she kneels down beside Sai's prostrated form and checks for a pulse. Hard-hitting relief fills her when her finger detects one. Her focus drifts away from her other two fighting teammates as she quells down the urge to help them. Sakura knows that she is foremost a **medic **_nin_, and not the other way around.

She uses extreme care and caution as she pours life sustaining chakra into his system, repairing the internal organs and resetting the broken bones. After a few minutes, she is heaving, fatigued and tired as sweat trickles from her brow.

Slowly, an eyelid flutters open and an inky orb stares back at her, "Took you long enough Ugly." He mutters, the lid sliding shut again.

Too worn out from bringing him back from the brink of death _and _depleting her chakra stores to an almost hazardous level, Sakura only casually observes that Sai is a glutton for punishment, and she makes sure to wind his bandages a little _too _tightly.

"You're welcome, you idiot."

OoO

"What are you doing?" Comes a dispassionate voice.

Sakura inwardly grits her teeth and sighs, looking up over the edge of her medical textbook. This was the third time that Sai had interrupted her study session this week and she was beginning to find the act…annoying. Pausing to calm down her flaring temper, she ways her options.

She could tell him to get lost, and then be subjected to him staying _only _to annoy her.

Or, she could tell him kindly and politely that she was trying to study…and then be subjected to him staying _only _to annoy her.

Sighing, she decides to go with option three.

Lazily, her sandaled foot kicks out the chair across from her under the table, "Nothing really, take a seat."

He eyes the chair, as if expecting it to attack him, but begrudgingly sits down. He clears his throat, and Sakura is shocked- more elated though, to see that Sai is actually talking to her. "So, I think lately I have been experiencing one of those 'emotions'…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, "Really? What kind?"

"It's this one called 'dislike'…"


End file.
